Ken Buck on Crime

Closed loophole that had let abusive fathers contact kids

Ken Buck is fighting back against the "war on women" narrative that helped doom his Senate campaign in 2010. And the opening salvo in the battle to reclaim his name is coming in the form of a 2-minute video entitled "Stephanie's Story."

The story goes
like this: In 2008, Stephanie Drobny and her two young children fled their home in Montana after her abusive husband threatened to murder her and put her in the forest "where the bears would eat" her. But Ken Buck, in his capacity as District Attorney,
helped her "get through a rough time in my life," Drobny says during the video.

In the process of helping Drobny, Buck discovered a major loophole in the law that allowed perpetrators like her husband to continue contacting the children. Buck, Drobny,
and even her daughter went to the state legislature so that they could help close the loophole. The bill was signed into law in 2011.

Buck says he is taking proactive measures to undermine the "war on women" meme that hurt him last time.

2006: Declined to prosecute "buyer's remorse" date-rape case

Q: As district attorney, you declined to prosecute a 2006 date rape case. You told the Greeley Tribune, "A jury could very well conclude that this was a case of buyer's remorse," after you looked at the circumstances of the case and decided not to
prosecute. A lot of people thought that was an insensitive remark. The woman who was involved in this case has been critical of you, saying that your tone was one of attacking her.

BUCK: The rape was reviewed by a prosecutor with 30 years prosecutorial
experience. He declined to prosecute. Two female chief deputies reviewed the case, talked to witnesses; they declined to prosecute. The Boulder County district attorney's office declined to prosecute and told me that the case couldn't be prosecuted.

Q:
But do you regret the way you talked to her?

BUCK: I don't regret the way I talked to her. It is important that a prosecutor approach a victim with a certain amount of reality, and that's what I tried to do with this victim. I didn't blame her at all.

Fired for refusing to prosecute an unethical case

Q: Tell us about the circumstances of your departure from the US Attorney's office?

A: I had a disagreement with [then-US Attorney] Tom Strickland on a particular case. I contacted [the opposing party's] defense attorneys to suggest that they come in &
plead out that case because I thought that--every career prosecutor in that office agreed--that it would be unethical to prosecute that case. Strickland filed an Office of Professional Responsibility Complaint against me, which was resolved by a letter
detailing that I had unintentionally violated an ethical rule. After that I left the office.

Q: What was the violation?

A: Disclosing confidential information of a client. It's the first time I had ever seen that rule applied in that way.

Q: There
was dissension in the office about the case?

A: Yes, I thought the case was weak. There's even [a colleague's] memo out there detailing why this case is weak--that Strickland has seen--[saying that the defense] should just get in & plead this case out.

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The CC survey summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: "Capital punishment for certain crimes, such as first degree murder & terrorism"